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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28962885">Book Commentary: Cathy's Book</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mlmcg12/pseuds/mlmcg12'>mlmcg12</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Book Blog Transcripts [41]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Cathy Vickers Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Age Difference, Cross-Posted on WordPress, F/M, Spoilers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2019-04-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2019-04-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:41:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>815</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28962885</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mlmcg12/pseuds/mlmcg12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cathy Vickers/Victor Tsao</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Book Blog Transcripts [41]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2123052</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Entries Dated January 30</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <ul>
<li>Before starting, a few notes on the ARG elements:
<ul>
<li>I got the whole trilogy in paperback, which has the photocopies of the supplemental materials, mostly because I didn’t trust myself not to lose the physical ones that came in a baggie attached to the inside of the back cover of the hardcover editions. (Also, technically, I waited too long between getting book two in paperback and book three in paperback that I think the trilogy went out of print, and I had to track down book three at a used book store.)</li>
<li>The only serious ARG portion I actually looked into was the Facebook page created for the Cathy character (friend request accepted and all). Technically, the page is still there and still has birthday notifications that go out every year, but since the books came out from 2006 to 2008, it’s unlikely that the authors or the publishers or whoever’s running the ARG elements are still posting to it. And it’s even less likely that all the other websites and phone numbers and email accounts associated with the trilogy are still up and running.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Anyway, back to the regularly scheduled book review…</li>
<li>OK, what’s up with the now-ex-boyfriend? And the fight with Mom?</li>
<li>So, the fight with Mom was about needle tracks on Cathy’s arm, even though Cathy’s not a druggie. What a lovely start to the book.</li>
<li>Also, the mom’s a graveyard shift nurse?</li>
<li>And Cathy’s trying to be an artist like her late father.</li>
<li>If Cathy’s not a druggie, where did the needle tracks come from?</li>
<li>Cathy’s hanging out at her best friend Emma’s house and trying to work on a group project for their biology class. And of course Emma’s the Stereotypical Science Nerd Who’s Also An Immigrant From Hong Kong. Because it’s totally cool to insert bad stereotypes two pages into the book.</li>
<li>So, Emma’s dad is some businessman, and Cathy’s already selling a bit of art to websites (but not enough to be a Serious Job).</li>
<li>Cathy’s no help with the project that’s apparently three days away from being due, and she’s so pissed about Victor the Ex that she’s suggesting switching the project to something about poisons.</li>
<li>OK, so, Victor works for a biotech company and apparently gets paid enough there to have his own small airplane.</li>
<li>So, wait… Victor drugged Cathy two nights earlier then broke up with her this morning?</li>
<li>And now there’s this possible other woman, Carla the Coworker, who’s apparently closer to Victor’s age. Because there was some sort of Serious Age Difference betwen him and Cathy.</li>
<li>So, Cathy thinks it’s Way Too Quiet in the early hours of the morning when her mom’s at the hospital, which makes her mind wander enough for her to miss her dad.</li>
<li>Whoo… fun… underage drinking. Cathy, what the hell are you doing in your mom’s booze stash?</li>
</ul>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Entries Dated January 30+ / Entries Dated November 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <ul>
<li>Early Entries About Victor… This should be interesting.</li>
<li>The thing about the girls in 1918 or 1944 having their dads not coming home, too… Cathy… Your main journal takes place in 2006? I think? And even considering the possibility that these flashback entries are only a couple years old, you do realize that there’s war going on in the Middle East during those entries, too?</li>
<li>That bird sounds pretty.</li>
<li>Oh, Cathy, you should’ve gone with your gut the first time you met Victor. The creep factor is off the charts here. And the douche factor.</li>
<li>I used to really like the ArtGirl outfit drawing, but now it just feels like “edgy Goth teen girl shit.”</li>
<li>No, seriously, what’s the big deal about Victor? WHY DOES CATHY EVEN LIKE THIS ASSHOLE?</li>
<li>OK, what’s with the sudden slow-mo mode?</li>
<li>Dammit, Cathy, why are you taking Victor’s dare to draw him?</li>
<li>Cathy’s aging up people in her drawings is actually a cool concept.</li>
<li>Again with the Cathy’s dad teaching her about art. And this is like <em>serious art history</em>.</li>
<li>“Maybe Victor’s a vampire!” Yeah, sure, great idea, Cathy… But come to think of it, Victor does give me Edward Cullen vibes the more I think about it…</li>
<li>Also, why does it take “Victor just broke up with me, so I’m rereading my old journal entries about meeting him” for Cathy to even come close to remembering how douchey he was even then, and that thinking that dating him was a bad idea…</li>
<li>And two seconds later… Cathy’s wallowing again… and thinking about their first date in his plane…</li>
<li>Also, why was Emma third-wheeling on the first date?</li>
<li>I think I mentioned this last time, but even with Victor’s high-paying job, how the hell did he get his own airplane and know how to fly it expertly if he’s supposed to be twenty-something?</li>
<li>On a related note, in this list of things Cathy misses most about Victor, how did she not think it was super sketchy how Victor was a little Too Perfect?</li>
</ul>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>See also https://mmcgui12sbookblog.home.blog/</p></blockquote></div></div>
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